In addition to showing off the new features coming to iPhones, Macs, and other devices at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced a new product – the Apple Vision Pro Virtual Reality Headset. Here’s what the $3,500 device has to offer.
CEO Tim Cook describes the Apple Vision Pro as the first Apple product you look through rather than look at because it is the company’s first-ever spatial operating system. Basically, your favorite apps live right in front of your eyes within your space, allowing you to interact with your device and surroundings simultaneously. To navigate, you use your eyes, tap to select, flick to scroll, and use your voice to dictate. These apps have new dimensions allowing them to cast light and shadows, making them feel like they are physically there with you. You can modify the display to be as large or small as possible.
The Apple Vision Pro also contains the brand’s first-ever 3D camera, allowing you to capture moments with a new level of depth. The headset will enable you to be as present in your reality as you would like. You can create backgrounds or look at your surroundings while viewing your screen, allowing you to expand beyond the dimensions of your physical space.
Apple has dubbed this moment as “the era of spatial computing.” The lightweight technology has a single piece of glass with 12 cameras, 5 sensors, and 6 microphones that allow you to view and interact with the world. The glass connects to a lightweight aluminum alloy frame that custom fits your face with a modular system with a light seal that prevents outside light from getting into your eyes and a soft structure to suit your features. This connects to a 3D knitted headband providing comfort and breathability.
Apple also built an OLED display which contains 64 pixels in the space of 1 iPhone pixel, to mimic the quality in which our eyes view the world. It also includes an advanced spatial audio system with a personalized sound delivered in your ears’ direction. The device uses audio ray tracing to sense the objects around you, so the sound seems to be coming from your environment. With the 3D mapping technology, the device can detect the things and people around you. It uses a two-chip system, the M2 and R1, which work together to power the device. The newly developed R1 chip provides real-time speed with no lag. A wire is connected to the device with a small battery pack that fits in your pocket. This technology allows everything to feel like it is there with you.
This new technology is creating a lot of excitement within tech, similar to the cell phone launch. Spatial computing allows humans a new way to compute, opening up a new realm of technology and how we interact.
